Malaysia: Umno polls postponed, Zahid remains president till early 2023

• AHMAD Zahid Hamidi will remain Umno president for another 18 months after the party decided to postpone elections, according to Supreme Council member Tajuddin Abdul Rahman.
• Tajuddin told Malay-language daily Sinar Harian that its leadership will remain in office till early 2023.
• The Pasir Salak MP said the decision to defer the party polls to a later date was made after it was tabled during a Supreme Council meeting held online last week.
• “The decision to postpone was endorsed and accepted after the Supreme Council signed off the resolution,” he was quoted.
• Umno was to have held the party polls in 2020 but they were postponed due to the movement control order (MCO), following Covid-19 pandemic.
• The party holds elections every three years, with the last being held on 30 Jun 18. The current term of Umno’s office bearers expires at the end of Jun 21.
• In light of the growing internal dispute surrounding Zahid’s leadership, UMNO vice president Mohamed Khaled Nordin urged party leaders to regroup and let go of personal ambitions for the sake of the party’s survival.
• Khaled, in a Facebook post on 25 Jun 21, said in order to survive, every member must follow the decision made by the party’s Supreme Council and the president.
• His comment came following criticisms aimed at party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi last week.
• Chief among the critics has been Padang Rengas MP Nazri Abdul Aziz, who had said that he had lost confidence in Zahid for working with PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.
• He also said he had secured signatures from 25 out of 42 BN lawmakers to make Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein their spokesman to the Agong.
• Another Umno man who has spoken out against Zahid’s 14-day ultimatum was party vice president Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
• Ismail who is a member in the PN cabinet, played down Zahid’s ultimatum, saying only the council can decide on the party’s stance.
• “There are too many ambitions from groups in Umno. Personal ambitions, not for the country, religion or race. This will lead Umno to trouble if not sorted,” Khaled opined.

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